Roleplay

Faced with rampant sexual violence on their college campus, a group of Tulane University students spend a year creating an immersive play from their real-life experiences. Building characters and scenes based on the sexual politics of their campus, the student actors confront hard truths.

The film follows this process with a lyrical lens, blurring the lines between reality and performance, moving between verite of campus life and the confessional vulnerability of the rehearsal room.

Posing urgent questions about toxic legacies, trauma and healing, ROLEPLAY explores the roles we play as we grow into who we are: how they hurt us, how they heal us, and how they shape our futures.

 Official Selection at 2024 SXSW Film Festival, the 2024 DOCNYC, 2024 Heartland International Film Festival, and the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival

"One of the best docs I’ve seen so far this year is Katie Mathews’ “Roleplay,” a film that truly surprised me because it does what so few films like this are willing to do: It lets its subjects be messy, unpredictable, and human…Mathews has a deceptively subtle voice as a director, providing a supportive platform more than insisting on cinematic results. It leads to a film that’s all the more powerful by virtue of feeling so very real." - Brian Tallerico, Managing Director, RogerEbert.com

“It changed me. Access to these brilliant young minds and what they’ve accomplished got to me on a cellular level. I remembered to be hopeful for a moment.” - Ashley Smith, Flagpole

"More than a documentary about campus sexual violence, Roleplay is a damning window into the ways society reinforces rape culture." - Brandon Lewis, Geek Vibes Nation